China — Food Additives and Flavourings
China received 16 RASFF border-rejection notifications in Food Additives and Flavourings between 2023-Q3 and 2026-Q2. Volume peaked at 5 in 2026-Q2, with the trend rising sharply year-on-year. The most-cited issues are chlorate, ethylene oxide, and 2-chloroethanol.
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Key figures
If you import food additives and flavourings from China
- Chance a consignment is opened at the EU border
- Not on the EU's increased-checks list, so only member states' routine, risk-based checks apply (rates not published).
- If it is rejected
- Held, final fate not recorded 53%; re-dispatched 20%; re-dispatched or destroyed 13%; treated, sorted or diverted 13%. A re-dispatched lot can be sold elsewhere, a treated or sorted one can be released once it complies, and a destroyed one is lost.
- Where rejections happen
- Italy (7), Latvia (3), Poland (3), of 15 border rejections in the last 3 years.
- Riskiest months
- April, January, March, by rejections since 2020.
- Test for before shipping
- chlorate (7), ethylene oxide (3).
The EU does not publish how many consignments are shipped, so no page can state a true probability of rejection; these are the figures that are published.
Quarterly rejections, last 12 quarters
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Notifications |
|---|---|
| 2023-Q3 | 1 |
| 2023-Q4 | 1 |
| 2024-Q1 | 0 |
| 2024-Q2 | 0 |
| 2024-Q3 | 2 |
| 2024-Q4 | 1 |
| 2025-Q1 | 1 |
| 2025-Q2 | 0 |
| 2025-Q3 | 0 |
| 2025-Q4 | 1 |
| 2026-Q1 | 4 |
| 2026-Q2 | 5 |
Recent rejections
- 2026.5760 Incorrect official certificate for xanthan gum from China Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched or destroyed.
- 2026.3599 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 5.2+/-2.6 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorate
- 2026.3594 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 71.1+/-35.9 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorate
- 2026.3338 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 9.4 +/- 4.7. chlorate
- 2026.3088 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 0,27 +/- 0,14 (limit 0.01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorate
- 2026.2760 chlorate in xantan gum from China Notified by Slovenia. Result 15 (limit 0,01 mg/kg - ppm). chlorate
- 2026.2700 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 4.6 ± 2.3. chlorate
- 2026.1448 Chlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy. Result 2.7. chlorate
- 2026.0084 The food flavouring label did not include a list of ingredients, from China via Russia Notified by Latvia. Reached the market, treated, sorted or diverted.
- 2025.7842 Unauthorized food additives E 316 Sodium D-isoascorbate in food additive E 160d lycopene from China Notified by Latvia. Re-dispatched.
- 2025.0296 ethylene oxide (sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol expressed as ethylene oxide) 0,16 +/- 0.04 mg /kg in xanthan gum from China Notified by Poland. Treated, sorted or diverted. Result 0,16 ± 0,04 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
- 2024.9139 ethylene oxide in xantam gum Notified by Italy. Re-dispatched or destroyed. ethylene oxide
- 2024.7025 Tlenek etylenu (0,19 ± 0,04 mg/kg) w gumie ksantanowej z Chin /// Ethylene oxide in Xanthan gum from China Notified by Poland. Re-dispatched. Result 0,19 ± 0,04 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
- 2024.5362 Certificado sanitario incorrecto en Goma xantana de China. / Incorrect health certificate on Xanthan gum from China. Notified by Spain.
- 2023.8379 Non-aproved food addietive ε –Polylysine from China Notified by Latvia. Re-dispatched.
- 2023.4666 improper health certificate(s) and certified analytical report for xanthan gum from China Notified by Italy.
- 2022.6628 Improper Official Certificate(s) for Xanthan gum from China Notified by Latvia. Re-dispatched.
- 2022.6488 Missing Official Certificates for xanthan gum from China and guar gum from India Notified by Malta.
- 2022.2762 Ethylene oxide in xanthan gum - at the level: LOT4211124160 - 0,69 mg/kg, LOT4211009056-0,35 mg/kg, LOT4211129192-0,50 mg/kg from China Notified by Poland. Treated, sorted or diverted. Result LOT4211124160 - 0,69 mg/kg , LOT4211009056-0,35 mg/kg, LOT4211129192-0,50 mg/kg. 2-chloroethanol
Found on the EU market: alerts and information notifications
Besides border rejections, 28 notifications since 2020 concerned food additives and flavourings from China found after entering the EU — 13 alerts, 15 information notifications. They are not part of the rejection figures or rates above, which measure border controls.
How they were found: company's own check 71%, official control on the market 21%, consumer complaint or illness 7%. 1 led to a recall from consumers.
Show the numbers
| Year | Total | Alerts | Information notifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2021 | 12 | 7 | 5 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2026 to date | 3 | 0 | 3 |
- 2026.5869 info: attentionPotential release of benzene from CO2 cylinders into sparkling water produced by drinking water treatment equipment.Possibile rilascio di benzene da bombole di CO2 in acqua gasata prodotta da apparecchiature per il trattamento dell'acqua potabile Notified by Italy. Company's own check, reached the market.
- 2026.4610 info: follow-upChlorates in xanthan gum from China, via Germany Notified by Belgium. Company's own check. Result 12 (± 3). chlorate
- 2026.0361 info: follow-upChlorates in xanthan gum from China, via Germany Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market, destroyed. Result 8,6. chlorate
- 2025.10124 info: follow-upChlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0,18. chlorate
- 2025.10026 info: follow-upChlorates in xanthan gum from China Notified by Belgium. Company's own check. Result 11. chlorate
- 2025.6360 alertHigh amount of chlorates in xanthan gum (food/feed) from China Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market. Result > 100. chlorate
- 2025.5775 alertMOAH in Garlic Powder from China Notified by Netherlands. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 1.4. mineral oil
- 2024.8766 info: attentionPrzekroczenie tlenku etylenu w HPMC E15 pochodzącym z Chin / ethylene oxide in HPMC E15 from China Notified by Poland. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 0,19 (limit 0,1 mg/kg - ppm). ethylene oxide
- 2024.8517 info: attentionPresence of genetically modified enzymes and traces of genetically modified micro-organisms Notified by France. Official control on the market, reached the market. Result Detected (limit No detected null). genetically modified
- 2023.3497 alertZearalenone in Mixed Tocopherols from China Notified by Belgium. Company's own check, reached the market. Result 3000. zearalenone
Data and downloads
Download all 47 entries (CSV) — every notification behind this page, border rejections and those found on the market, with how each was found and what was done.
The file holds entries up to 2026-07-02. To get new ones for China by email, watch China.
China country report since 2020 — all notification types, not just border rejections →